Friday, November 18, 2011

Blog Tour: Destined by Jessie Harrell (Review & Giveaway)

I’m so excited to be today’s stop on the Destined blog tour! Check out my review of Destined below and then don’t forget to read the bottom of the post to find out how to enter the giveaway and win your own copy!

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girls in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she’s come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

Destined is a fresh and heartachingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Pysche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell.

I’ll just say it straight up, I ADORE Greek mythology and retellings. Ever since sixth grade when we had our mythology unit and I made ambrosia and dressed up as Artemis and learned how to sing the Greek alphabet, something just clicked. So I was incredibly excited when I heard about Destined, and I’m thrilled to be able to report that it is an AWESOME retelling of the Pysche and Cupid myth.

That said, it is absolutely not necessary to be familiar with the Psyche and Cupid myth or even the Greek gods in general for you to understand and love this story. Jessie does a great job of making it enjoyable for those who know the myth as well as those who are stepping into the world for the first time.

And what a world it is! Jessie’s descriptions are beautiful, and she’s fantastic at creating the setting and making the reader feel like they are there. I could picture mortals wandering through olive trees with the hot Greek sun beating down on them just as easily as I saw gods just lounging around drinking ambrosia. (And then I started looking up plane tickets to Greece. :P)

While the setting is undeniably ancient Greece, there is also a modern slant to the story that I loved. It was so fun to have some of my favorite Greek gods speaking in modern phrases. Hearing Hermes say, “I’m just giving you a reality check, man.” made me laugh out loud.

Jessie has a very engaging writing style and I found myself speeding through the novel, hopeful and eager for Pysche to get her happy ending. She and Eros definitely have several obstacles to overcome, but isn’t that the way all the best love stories happen? And Pysche is a great character to root for. She’s caring, stubborn, and strong, and she’s just trying to deal with what has been destined for her. Oh, and Eros isn’t bad either. :) (Can I have a hot Greek god, Jessie? Kay, thanks.)

Destined is a fun and entertaining adventure through mythical Greece and I loved every minute of it.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your email address and you’ll be automatically entered to win an e-copy of Destined. The contest will be open for 48 hours from the time of the post, and then Jessie will use random.org to select a winner. Easy peasy!

GIVEAWAY UPDATE: Congrats to E. Bakers, who was selected by random.org to win the e-copy of Destined! Jessie will be emailing you!

And for everyone who didn't win, don't forget to visit the other stops on the Destined official blog tour for more chances to win copies of Destined and other fun goodies!